The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 84

“Have you ever heard that saying online, the one about death meaning something different?” Petty’s eyes flicked to his hand, noticing how he was loosening his grip.

The man looked up at her, a little lost.

“Death isn’t really the end. It’s like when you wake up and Melissa’s already gone to work, or you’re eating breakfast and she’s out running. When you go looking for her, she’s just getting home. Melissa is still here, right beside you, always. You just can’t see her anymore.”

“But she can still see you. Everything you do, she’s watching.”

“Is Melissa really still here?” He looked around, searching the darkening sky and shivering as the mountain air grew colder.

Petty pressed her hand to her bruised neck and nodded. “Of course.”

“You even brought her favorite cake. She can taste it too.”

“You said she likes to light a candle before eating her cake, right?” Petty’s voice was gentle and soothing, like an older sister comforting a child. “Let’s light the candle for her. What do you think?”

Franco’s jaw tightened.

Tears streaked down the man’s face as he looked at Petty, caught somewhere between confusion and a fragile hope.

Petty reached for his left hand and guided him toward the grave.

“Blue was her favorite color, wasn’t it?” she asked quietly.

He nodded, a faint smile breaking through. “Melissa always said that after she died, she wanted to rest somewhere she could see the most beautiful blue. I picked this place for her.”

“It’s lovely. By spring, flowers will cover this whole hillside. No girl can resist flowers, and Melissa loved them too, didn’t she?”

He nodded, swallowing a sob.

Petty led him right up to the gravestone. She quickly thought of the lighter he’d taken from her earlier. If she grabbed the detonator but he still had the lighter, things could go horribly wrong.

Letting go of his hand, she knelt and picked up the blue cake.

“Why don’t you put the candle in for Melissa? She’d love that.”

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